


"...When I Went Away to College..."

by UrbanCuntemporary



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Series, baby!westallen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 18:58:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrbanCuntemporary/pseuds/UrbanCuntemporary
Summary: Is it reckless and/or illegal? Yes. So naturally, Iris is going.Is Iris going? Yes. So naturally, Barry is going.





	"...When I Went Away to College..."

“If I get arrested, I’m ratting you out.”

“Barry...”

“I mean it--I don’t care if I’m a snitch--”

“--Bar--”

“You’re a cop’s daughter, you know, you’ll be fine. Me? I’ll go straight to prison and look at me! Iris, I won’t last in the white gangs you know I talk shit--”

“Barry!” Iris laughs, grabbing him by the sides of his face. “Pull yourself together, okay?” She gives him a playful pat on the cheek. “You know you didn’t have to come. _You_ snuck out after _me_.”

“Oh, like you didn’t want me to go with you,” he rolls his eyes, adopting a falsetto, "'I've  _always_ wanted to sneak into a carnival  _after hours,'"_ he parrots, before switching back to his regular voice, “I’ve seen those noodles you call arms. You don’t have the upper body to climb that fence without my help.”

“Uh! You better hush, I got your upper body right here--” Iris squares up like she’s about to hit him--

“Wait! No, I’m kidding--” he narrowly dodges her swipe. “You know I have sensitive skin…”

Iris rolls her eyes, but she’s giggling. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, Allen.” She turns toward the fence, “Anyway, we’re both here, now. And I’m not leaving until I steal some day old cotton candy and ride that rickety old Ferris wheel. So whad’ya say?”

Barry hesitates, “Iris--”

“You can say no,” she says sullenly, but her eyes are twinkling, “I’ll go with or without you. I just hope I don’t break my neck trying to hop that fence…”

“That’s not fair,” Barry whines.

Iris shrugs, “I reeeeaaally want that cotton candy…” she grabs his sleeve and tugs him along, “Come on, you’ll have fun, I promise.”

“Famous last words,” Barry mumbles.

* * *

“You wanna know the chances of dying on an unattended Ferris wheel?”

Iris twirls a big pink chunk of cotton candy around her finger, “Nope.” 

“Really?” Barry shivers but tries his best not to let it seem obvious. His knuckles are pale where he grips the safety bar. “Cause I feel like if you knew, this wouldn’t be happeni--aaand we’re moving, I’m gonna die.”

“You know,” Iris says, “if you keep stressing yourself out like this you’re gonna have bad skin? And then you’re gonna look 40 when you’re like, 30. And then we wouldn’t be able to hang out because people will think you’re my 56-year-old sugar daddy, and I cannot abide.” She tears off a piece of cotton candy and offers it to him. It’s stale to the point that the rip sounds like paper; Barry shakes his head no thanks. Iris shrugs and pops the piece into her mouth.

“How’d I go from 40 to 56?”

“All that stress, here--” She reaches into her jean jacket and pulls out a joint.

Barry shakes his head again, “You know that shit makes me paranoid in public.”

“Because you’re cool calm and collected now?”

Barry flushes, chuckling self deprecatingly. He sighs, “I guess I am kind of a downer tonight, huh?”

Iris shakes her head and puts the joint back in her pocket, “It’s okay,” she says, nudging her shoulder against him. “Nothing wrong with being cautious. But ya gotta loosen up a little, Bar. You’re shipping out in a couple of weeks, and I won’t be around to be your social buffer.”

“I’m going to college, Iris, not war.”

“Okay, but,” she shifts to face him, and it makes their little car rock, which makes Barry’s stomach churn, “but we won’t be at the same school, which has never happened in the history of ever. It’s all gonna be so different.”

“Don't remind me…” Barry murmurs as Iris turns her attention to the horizon. 

He looks her over thoughtfully, her eyes on the city below.  The lights are stars in the dark of her eyes and the summer breeze swirls the curls that have fallen loose around her face. It’s rare that she doesn’t straighten her hair these days, but she’d said something about the scheduling being off. _I missed the window_ , she’d said at noon today, wincing as she combed out the damp tangles to braid into plaits, _If I start now, we won’t be going anywhere tonight_. Which he knows since he’s often stayed up late with her while she fussed over her tresses.

After everything he's been through, change shouldn't bother him anymore. But truth is, it’s been on his mind since the start of senior year, since he realized Iris wasn't applying to the same colleges he was, since he'd gotten his acceptance letter from his dream school, and she'd gotten hers. 

Truth is, Barry Allen doesn’t remember living without Iris West, and he’s kind of freaking out about it.

And right now, on this rickety Ferris wheel --literally he can find 13 code violations just from a glance-- his heart is in his throat, and with all his caution, he’s thinking of something reckless.

Because what if they go off to college and things change for good, anyway? Right? Everything is chaos, so maybe if he tells his best friend right now that he’s loved her since the time she let him borrow her favorite crayon when he broke his, or since that time she showed him how to bunny tie his shoes, maybe it won’t even be a blip on the radar.

Iris is leaning against him, now, tucking her head in the nook of his shoulder, “I’m gonna miss you, Bar,” she says to the air under his chin.

“Iris…”

“Hm?” she shifts to look up at him, and the Ferris wheel thankfully lurches to a stop at the bottom of the ride.

And it’s right there, coming up from his gut, traveling up his throat. He’s gonna say it. He’s really gonna say it. Barry takes opens his mouth, takes a breath...

And shoves Iris to the side as he projectile vomits onto the pavement.

Iris curls away from him in her seat. “ _Eeewwww_ ,” she squeals, but Barry can see the flash of her phone in his periphery.

“Are you taking pictures?” he asks incredulously between heaves.

“No,” she assures him. “I _am_ recording, though.”

“ _Iris_.”

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a reference to Barry's confession to Iris in season 1 and the times he said he'd almost told her about his feelings for her. So it's my take. No promises bc my muse is a thot that gives me abandonment issues but I might make this a little series. It's probably already been done though


End file.
